This contextualises the recent flirtation between Saudi Arabia and Israel. While these are still tenuous first steps, mostly covert and minimal, the tide seems to be tuning. The detention of several powerful Saudi figures and members of clergy, can not only be seen in terms of domestic reforms and consolidation of power intended by Mohammed bin Salman, but also as giving him more room to manoeuvre in developing closer ties with Israel, given the hostility Saudi regime would have faced from actors that are anything but pro-Israel.

While fraught with complications, a closer relationship between the two countries might have other benefits, besides confronting their shared nemesis Iran. For Israel, a normalisation of relations with the “country of the two holy mosques” might inch the country closer to being accepted as a Jewish nation-state among Muslim countries. For Saudi Arabia, adding the region’s most formidable military power to its side would both strengthen its hand, and, no doubt, please the US, long a staunch supporter of Israel.

How exactly a closer cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Israel would look like in practice is hard to say. It is not obvious how Israel would substantially aid Saudi Arabia against Hezbollah in Lebanon, or to diminish Iran’s role in Syria. If Israel were to get overtly and directly involved, this would surely generate much rejection and backlash in Muslim countries. For Iran, such a development would be opportune to pitch itself as being the mainstay of defiance against Israel.

Having a common foe in Iran raises the possibilities some semblance of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Israel. While much unpredictability remains, it is certain that this would impact the Palestinian position. Saudi Arabia has long played an important role in Palestine. Any radical change in its stance would, hence, upset the fragile balance of power in the Gaza strip and West bank. The agreement between Hamas and Fatah has been the most significant development in Palestine in recent years, but it remains to be seen how durable this arrangement will be. Saudi Arabia making overtly common cause with Israel, could have consequences for Palestinian politics and the future of a Palestinian state. Thus, in the game of chess that is the struggle for domination in the Middle East, Palestinians might become a pawn sacrificed by Saudi Arabia.